eCommerce Strategies In 2018

Is your eCommerce strategy performing as well as you’d hoped? Are you struggling to convert users online? In 2018, there’s countless ways to scale eCommerce growth, but which strategies really are the most effective?

The Networx Brisbane eCommerce event, aimed to uncover the most effective ways to convert users online. The event was moderated by non-other than Laura Campbell from Deloitte Digital, and featured the likes of panellists Camille Socquet-Clerc from Michael Hill, Mike Angell from Culture Kings, and Simon Bryne from Anzden - each bringing with them a wealth of experience across an assortment of industries.

The night kicked off by uncovering one of the biggest topics in the eCommerce space right now… the impact of Amazon launching in Australia. Although the national launch was set to disrupt the Australian eCommerce landscape, all of the panellists agreed that it’s impact hasn’t yet reached its full potential. Simon did mention, however, that although the platform’s adoption has been slow, it will soon evolve into the same eCommerce juggernaut that it is in the US.

“If your products are well suited to be sold on Amazon, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be on there by now” - Simon

Whilst discussing where exactly brands should be selling their products, there was also an inevitable mention of the role social media plays. With the development of tools like Instagram stories and shoppable posts, social has shifted from a channel that was traditionally used for top-of-funnel engagement, into a powerful tool that can now help drive real bottom-of-funnel conversions.

On the conversation of eCommerce tools, Camille also mentioned the rise of voice technology and the important role it will play in better connecting users with brands. Camille highlighted that in order to harness the true power of voice technology for eCommerce, brands should ensure that their website schemas are properly marked up, their content is optimised for natural language search terms, and a skill should be built only if necessary.

It was also interesting to hear Camille’s advice on developing an attribution model that effectively includes all of a consumers touch points. She noted that brands shouldn’t just rely on last click attribution as there are often several channels that play their own important role in helping convert a user.

“A user might simply engage with a product post on a social channel throughout the day. Although the user may not purchase the product right away, they’re more likely to convert at a later point when they’re sent a retargeted email. Both channels play an important role in influencing the users purchase decision” - Camille

In 2018, there's endless ways to get users across the purchasing line. But what inlfuence do payments options play in this?

Mike mentioned how successful payment options are at not only converting users, but also increasing the total value of user purchases. With services like PayPal, AfterPay and ZipPay, the process of paying for purchases is completely streamlined. Mike did, however, make note of the costs associated with offering these services. As an example, orders completed with AfterPay incur a transaction fee of 4-6% of the total sale price. In summary, the panel agreed that payment options are not only just a great way of acquiring new users, but are also effective at retaining existing users too.

“It’s often the case that a user will immediately return to our store once they’ve finished their finance period and make another purchase” - Mike

On the topic of new versus existing users, Simon aimed to solve the ongoing myth of what costs less - acquiring a new user or converting one that already exists. Did you know that on average, it’s 10 times cheaper to convert an existing user than it is to acquire a new one? This is why it’s crucial for eCommerce brands to focus on fostering real relationships with users that drive continuous engagement.

So what are some effective real-world strategies that brands can leverage?

Camille uncovered the strategy of attracting new users with a hero product. A hero product is a hot item that a brand often promotes at a discounted rate to drive users to their website. Once the user lands on the website, it’s often the case that they’ll be enticed by other similar products and purchase more profitable items.

Following a similar trend, Mike shared Culture Kings strategy of incentivising users with an exclusive offer as appose to just discounting products. As Culture Kings has a reputation for being a premium brand, their approach of incentivising users sees them offer a free high-margin product to those who spend over a certain amount.

Overall, the panel did a fantastic job at sharing valuable advice on how brands can drive more real conversions online. The event wrapped up with a final top tip from each of our panellists. You can catch them in the video below:

Are you heading along to our June event? Join us at The Loft West End as we focus on data-driven marketing. You can catch the full event details here.